Retrotechtacular: Science fair robot ca. 1984

[Michael Surran] just came across this video from his seventh grade science fair project. He really had some fun building and showing off the robot and we’re glad the footage wasn’t lost in the annals of time. Take a look at the clip after the break. That’s not a robot peeing, it’s the ‘fire defense unit’ that pumps liquid to put out very near-range fires. There’s a solar-powered fan on the front, and the claw will spin if you know how to activate it. The shoulders and base are also motorized, and it looks like the keypad from an early calculator gives some extra control on the back of the bot.

We can’t watch this without smiling, and it’s inspired us to launch a recurring feature on Hackaday. We want you to dig out and digitize your old footage. Anything hack-related is fair game… and don’t be bashful! It doesn’t necessarily have to be you either. For example, we loved the video of [Grace Hopper’s] nanosecond lecture. If you’ve got some old time footage send us a link to it!

Strange, the last few days I have been checking amazon and ebay trying to find some of the old 80’s and early 90’s books on hobby robotics I used to read as a kid. I have had very little luck. Anyone know where I might find these? Or even a resource to find the books names?